frustrated

motomom258
motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
edited November 23 in Introduce Yourself
Hello my name is bobbie and i have been watching everything i eat since July 17 and exercising at least 4x a week doing zumba or kick boxing. I started at 184 and this morning got on the scale and i weigh a WHOPPING 190 I am so disappointed and feel like maybe I'm meant to be a whale! !!!! My dr started me on contrave and I've taken it for a week but nothing just keep gaining. My diet consists of very low sodium for hardly any sugar no soda no beer just WATER my lab work days thyroid works fine. .I'm sick to my stomach that I'm trying so hard and getting NO WHERE. Maybe i should give in and buy larger clothes and accept the fact that I'm suppose to be obese. Any b suggestions anyone please before i lose my mind

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

    You are not logging your food correctly or you are overestimating your calorie burns. Or both.
  • beccabryan30
    beccabryan30 Posts: 7 Member
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    ^^^ that. Sorry, no two ways about it. Make sure you weigh everything going into your mouth (in grams! Not cups, pieces, or spoons), don't forget oils and drinks, log it with MFP. Use a HRM to measure your exercise burn. Eat back at least a good portion of your exercise calories. Lose weight. Science baby! <3 Good luck!
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat

    A whole lotta no here.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat

    Oh where to start...
    - if it fits into your calories, there is nothing wrong with fried foods, bread, or pasta
    - fat is not stored more from certain foods. Fat is stored when you consume more calories than you burn
    - activity has nothing to do with weight loss. In the MFP method, if you don't work out and you are set to sedentary and you eat under your net goal, you will lose weight
    - you can't gain muscle while eating a deficit
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks since you last saw a drop on the scale, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Some of them are WAY off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    6. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    7. If you weigh yourself frequently (more than once or twice a week), consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.
  • peggykirkby
    peggykirkby Posts: 27 Member
    Totally agree with diannethegeek, especially on #4.

    I checked my version of a dish against one of the personal entries. I checked each ingredient against the nutritional info on the pkg's or official pages online. My version showed 100+ more calories than the UNverified entry!

    Anymore, when I match, I either match to the green checked "Verified" or do the research and match to any UNverified entry exactly, or one that is OVERstated by a few calories (nutritionals the opposite).

    Better safe than sorry!
  • peggykirkby
    peggykirkby Posts: 27 Member
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.
  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    I don't eat fried food, i exercise alot and even walk a brisk 25 min walk at work. I eat plenty of veggies and fruit. Look at all the food i buy. I thought for sure when i cut out the diet coke and beer i would definitely see a loss. I drank beer almost everyday and drank diet coke 3-4 times a day. Is there such a thing as stubborn fat. I don't know what to do. I dont eat alot of pasta or rice andb if i eat rice it's brown rice and i measure 1 cup and that's all. I just don't get it
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    your body can't tell time.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    motomom258 wrote: »
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    I don't eat fried food, i exercise alot and even walk a brisk 25 min walk at work. I eat plenty of veggies and fruit. Look at all the food i buy. I thought for sure when i cut out the diet coke and beer i would definitely see a loss. I drank beer almost everyday and drank diet coke 3-4 times a day. Is there such a thing as stubborn fat. I don't know what to do. I dont eat alot of pasta or rice andb if i eat rice it's brown rice and i measure 1 cup and that's all. I just don't get it

    not measure - weigh. I can carefully measure out 1 cup of rice too - and every time it will be more than I think it is. Weigh.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    Since i started dieting i do not n eat anything after 6 pm, is that ok
  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    I dont eat anything after 6pm is that ok
  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    Do u eat any fried foods or bread or pasta I don't I goes straight to fat now every time I look at food I look at it as fuel not taste and what is ur job like if its not a active job u might want to work out more and u need to eat less calories than it allows u for results and if ur still not losing weight than u may be gaining muscle and it weights more than fat

  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    I dont really eat fried food, i eat plenty of raw veggies fruit and read every label on food before i purchase it looking for low carbs, low sodium etc
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    motomom258 wrote: »
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    Since i started dieting i do not n eat anything after 6 pm, is that ok

    Meal timing is going to have very little impact on your weight loss. If you like not eating after 6, then it's great. If you want a late-night snack, that's okay too as long as you stay within your calorie and nutrition goals for the day.
  • shadowconn
    shadowconn Posts: 141 Member
    motomom258 wrote: »
    I dont eat anything after 6pm is that ok

    It depends. If you are not hungry after 6pm . . . Fine great. If you are, push it back. I go to bed at midnight or later, so my last meal is at 9pm. If I ate at 5pm or 6pm . . I'd have to budget a late night snack.
  • shadowconn
    shadowconn Posts: 141 Member
    bah . . . I just thought of something. By a measuring tape at a clothing store. You might be losing inches but not pounds due to all that zumba.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    motomom258 wrote: »
    I dont really eat fried food, i eat plenty of raw veggies fruit and read every label on food before i purchase it looking for low carbs, low sodium etc

    Calories are king for weight loss. Low carb/low sodium is great if that's how you want to eat or if you need to watch those for medical reasons.

    A couple of people have asked how carefully you're tracking your calories, but you seem to be skipping those posts. If you're comfortable opening your diary, that might help you get more specific answers.
  • peggykirkby
    peggykirkby Posts: 27 Member
    By the way...keep a close eye in what time you you eat tour last meal. Metabolism.

    your body can't tell time.

    It doesn't need to tell time. The clock is for your brain to see that a couch potato...or a person at rest, with metabolism in rest mode...will burn fewer calories than a body that's moving around...

    And yes, I AM aware that the body's metabolic system doesn't just disappear when one sleeps.
  • Eliza618
    Eliza618 Posts: 5 Member
    How much protein are you eating? Also some fruits has alot of sugar. Adding protein shakes and stay away from saturated fats will help you lose. Eat oatmeal for breakfast with stawberries every morning. Don't skip breakfast. If you could post what you are eating will really help us to help you. Good luck.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    Eliza618 wrote: »
    How much protein are you eating? Also some fruits has alot of sugar. Adding protein shakes and stay away from saturated fats will help you lose. Eat oatmeal for breakfast with stawberries every morning. Don't skip breakfast. If you could post what you are eating will really help us to help you. Good luck.

    Again, where to start... (what is with all the bro science on this threat?!)
    - Protein is important for repairing and up keeping existing muscle. It has jack all to do with weight loss unless that is the macro you feel the most full on, then you might want to focus on that to get the most bang out of your food buck
    - sugar has jack all to do with weight loss. I practically live on sugar from fruit and have lost just fine! Sugar might cause cravings. If it does that for you, or if you have a medical condition, lower your sugar intake. Else don't even bother looking at it
    - Protein shakes are great if you are bottoming out on your protein macro, but they are also calorie laden. If you struggle to meet your calorie and protein intake, they are awesome. Else just have some chicken and get the same result for less calories.
    - saturated fats tend to be in high calorie foodstuffs, yes, but there is nothing inherantly wrong with them unless you have a medical condition. If you want saturated fats in your diet, have saturated fats in your diet! They don't affect weight loss at all
    - oatmeal and strawberries for breakfast every day? Why?! Seriously, why?! Ignore this. If you want to start your day off with Kentucky Fried Chicken, start your day off with KFC!
    - if you want to skip breakfast, skip breakfast. Intermittened fasting is a thing and if you are not hungry in the morning but know you like a big meal at dinnertime (or something), then by all means, skip it! Your body does not tell time. Period!

    All that is needed for a weight loss is to eat at a deficit. I don't think your diary is open OP, but even without seeing it, I can guarantee you that you are not eating at a deficit. Weigh everything you eat in grams, log it, log exercise, eat 50 to 75 percent of your exercise back and you will lose. It really is as simple as that. You eat more than you burn, you gain weight. You eat what you burn, you maintain. You eat less than you burn, you lose weight. There is no such thing as stubborn fat. Ergo: start weighing your food honestly and accurately and you will start losing.

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Wow this thread has a lot of bad advice.

    Punch your height, weight and the loss you want in to MFP. That will set your calorie target.

    Eat this amount of calories a day. You need to weigh your food to be more accurate.

    Eat back half of any calories you burn through exercise.

    Eat any time of day you like.

    Eat any type of food you like.

  • IndianaNights
    IndianaNights Posts: 2 Member
    edited August 2015
    Eat whenever you want, don't be hungry. For starters, are you sure the scale you stepped onto is accurate/the same as at your doctor's office? I've lost almost 60 lb so far this year and I eat almost constantly. If you killed all the caffeine in your diet, that might be it... caffeine is a metabolism enhancer. I don't drink water hardly ever (yes, I know, terrible me) but was starting to have blood pressure headaches, mostly from what MFP helped me to recognize was a high sodium content. I switched from diet soda to unsweet tea, which is damn near water, and my blood pressure headaches went away, but my body kept receiving the life-giving caffeine. So if you experienced withdrawals and are missing your caffeine, you might consider tea.

    I quit smoking recently and that seriously stalled out my weight loss. I wasn't eating more and I was actually exercising more as an effort to try and get the nicotine out of my system and give me something else to think about, and I still didn't lose any weight at all for about 3 weeks. So while I know that my own experience is unique and yours differs from mine, I really feel that your completely cutting out a stimulant might have something to do with it.

    And just to make yourself feel better about your weight, you might want to consider weighing at the beginning of the day in as little as possible, just after having taken your morning poo. *lol*
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Ok, don't panic - you're clearly following a decent fitness plan so definitely keep that up!
    How is your diet? Do you track what you are eating? If not, I'd really strongly suggest you give that a try. You'd be amazed at what is in certain foods and how easy it is to go over calories even on something that you consider 'not too unhealthy'. Find out how many calories you require to lose your desired amount (MFP can do this for you!) and stick to it. Don't worry too much about carbs,fat,protein etc at this point. Make sure you have your deficit and I assure you, you will lose weight :)
  • motomom258
    motomom258 Posts: 11 Member
    Thank you all for your awesome responses, this is great, please someone tell me how to open up my food diary to you all so that you can tell me where I may be making an error or not logging correctly. I put literally every single thing that goes in my mouth in this diary. If I eay 2 dorito chips then it goes in the diary, if I eat 3 grapes it goes in the diary, I truly believe that I am logging everything correctly but maybe I'm eating something that I think is good that you may all know is not good. THis is the first time that I have truly looked at everything I bought and documented everything I eat. As I said before, I was a diet coke addict and I do not drink any diet coke ever if I do I log it but I figured that if I stopped the diet coke and the drinking beer every other day I would for sure see a drop in weight just based on those 2 things but I havent which has me stumped. Please someone direct me on how to open up my food diary to all and please suggest, direct me in anything that you think I need to change or even something that I need to do. I am determined to do this, mostly for my health but because I want to be here for a long time and watch my granddaughter grow up. One more question exactly how much muscsle could I possibly have gained if I do zumba 4 to 5 times a week. I worked up to this amount of excercise, I started July 17th doing 30 mins of zumba class, stationary bike and then treadmill. I now am doing full hour of zumba and working it extra hard I have water pouring down my face in sweat. I do have to say that I hardly ever do the machines because they are boring but someone tell me if I need to incorporate them into my workouts please. Be blunt with me I can take it. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR RESPONDING AND GIVING ME SUGGESTIONS YOUR ALL AWESOME
  • 5ft9andgettingtrim
    5ft9andgettingtrim Posts: 12 Member
    I use to work out a lot. I noticed when I would have a heavy work out 1 day I would lose 2 lbs in water weight and get 3 lbs back in muscle. It's just the way it works. In order for me to lose weight I had to do more cardio. Also the muscles store water to prevent damage.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    Go to settings --> diary options --> diary settings and select 'public' for diary sharing.

    As for muscle: you might get some 'newbie gains', which is what we call muscle definition from basic use of muscles. This is not growth! You can't grow muscle in a deficit--your body needs spare calories to 'make' them. So, unless you have actually been in a surplus all this time, you haven't gained muscle mass, just some definition, perhaps.
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